Summer Internship with Grassroutes – T Phani Sharavan from IIT Madras

July 30, 2011

Internshala is proud to announce the first “Winner of the Week” entrant to Hall of Fame. Phani Sharavan from IIT Madras shares his heart touching and very unique internship experience in coastal Andhra Pradesh in the sweltering summers! Wonder how many of us can undergo the tough experience like this one? But then these experiences define the character of a person. Well done Phani, Internshala is honored to have your experience shared with us and wishes you all the best. Your weekly prize (Rs. 1,000 gift voucher) is on its way and now you are one step closer to become “Winner of the month” and win bumper prize of Rs. 5,000/-.

One Kinetic Boss on the National Highway 5. One sturdy old helmet that lay on the benches where in I stopped by for Chaai-breaks. And adding to this there is the summer of the East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. Grassroutes enlisted me as one among their 27 other fellows for 2011. The objective of the organization is the realization of social change however small or large through roas trips. Road trips for social change is the motto.

So, I was mapped to a collective known as Coastal Rural Youth Network in Visakhapatnam, north coastal Andhra – my hometown. I was planning to conduct a research survey on the artisans living in this small village by the NH called Dharmavaram. The overview and the review part of my little survey was taken by one Mr. K.Rajendra who is the head of Sujana, a local voluntary organization.

As all thing fell in place, I took over from then on and interacted with nine different groups of workers who were making a living out of skill rather than living from a given purpose. The idea behind the scene was to enhance their present state by figuring out the resources that had already existed and that which need to see the light of the day in Dharmavaram, For example, A weaver weaves calmly in Rama Rao Street of Dharmavaram, just about when the monsoons are yet to strike – he realizes that he has no power, the ground beneath the maggam(weavers-spot/handlooms) is wet and cannot be used thereafter. A simple solution is to cement the lower ground. I have found several solution and yet innumerable questions that precede them over a span of 28 days. Over timeless travel, over sheets of data, over petrol, over Telugu, over Coconut Water, over Lungis – I suppose that this one opportunity given to me was nonetheless the best.

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